Bitget Hit by $351.6M Hack, Exchange Freezes Withdrawals as $464M Fund Covers Loss

Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitget has suffered a security breach involving approximately $351.6 million (£263 million) in unauthorised transfers from part of its hot and warm wallet infrastructure.

The exchange temporarily suspended withdrawals after detecting the transfers across multiple blockchain networks, while deposits and trading remained operational. Bitget said its cold wallets remained secure and that customer account balances were unaffected.

Bitget said the estimated amount affected falls within its User Protection Fund, which currently holds more than $464 million (£347 million). That would leave more than $112 million (£85 million) above the estimated amount affected, although the final figure remains subject to the ongoing investigation.

Bitget Suspends Withdrawals After Wallet Breach

Bitget chief executive Gracy Chen said the exchange's security systems detected unauthorised transfers at 18:31 UTC on Thursday, 24 September. The company said emergency response procedures were activated within minutes of the detection.

According to Bitget, the breach affected part of its hot and warm wallet infrastructure, while its offline cold wallets remained secure. Hot wallets are connected to systems used to process transactions and withdrawals, while cold wallets are kept offline to reduce exposure to online threats.

Blockchain researchers had flagged unusual movements from Bitget-linked wallets before Chen's announcement. Initial on-chain analysis found assets including Ethereum, BNB, Avalanche and Tether moving across multiple networks and being consolidated into another address.

Bitget said it had identified and flagged addresses linked to the transfers and notified law enforcement agencies and blockchain security firms. The exchange has not disclosed how the affected wallets were compromised. Bitget said it would not speculate on the attack method until the investigation is complete, leaving the cause of the breach unconfirmed.

Bitget Says $464m Fund Covers Reported Loss

Bitget said the full estimated amount affected falls within its User Protection Fund, which currently holds more than $464 million.

The exchange established the fund in 2022 with an initial commitment of $300 million (£227 million). Bitget's August 2026 valuation report put its average value during that month at about $382 million (£289 million), with the fund reaching more than $441 million (£333 million) at its highest point.

According to Bitget, deposits and trading remained operational while withdrawals were paused as a precaution. The company said withdrawals would resume after the security review was completed.

Bitget has described the $351.6 million figure as an estimate of the funds affected. The final amount and circumstances of the breach remain under investigation.

Reported Value Exceeds Earlier 2026 Crypto Theft

The reported value of the Bitget incident exceeds the $319 million (£241 million) theft from the Liquid Network on 6 September, which TRM Labs had identified as 2026's largest crypto theft at the time. About 85 per cent of the Liquid funds were subsequently returned, leaving roughly $47 million (£35 million) outstanding.

The comparison is not directly equivalent because the Liquid incident involved a Bitcoin sidechain, while Bitget is a cryptocurrency exchange. The reported value would nevertheless make the Bitget incident one of the largest crypto thefts recorded this year if the current estimate is confirmed.

Bitget said it would provide hourly updates and publish a full incident report within 24 hours, including its findings on the root cause and corrective measures. Withdrawals remained suspended pending completion of the security review.